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Pompeo - US to lift sanctions if North Korea dismantles nuclear weapons programme

15 May 2018

North Korea has a reputation for being unstable and inconsistent on its commitments, and the United States too, with its recent move of unilaterally pulling out of the Iran deal, has damaged its reputation on the global front.

Ties between North Korea and China are showing signs of improvement after going through a tough patch for years caused by the North's defiant advancement of its nuclear and missile programs. South Korea, for its part, has struggled to balance its close economic ties with China and its reliance on the US security framework in the region, driven both by North Korea's nuclear program and an increasingly active Japanese military, all while juggling to preserve its autonomy.

It has been said that the delegation includes Ryu Myong-son, department director of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), and Kim Nung-o, head of the party's North Pyongan Central Committee.

US PresidentDonald Trump said on Wednesday that three Americans detained by North Korea are on their way home with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Some experts saw this as a slight but significant moving of the goal posts when it comes to the Trump-Kim summit.

It is entirely in North Korea's hand when they want the benefits to flow or the sanctions to be lifted, he said. North Korea has a very extensive programme. "We are just not briefing you about it", the official added. This is the first time that the USA government mentioned a specific place in its territory to store North Korea's nuclear facilities and materials to be dismantled.

Abe wants to hear directly from Trump about what was discussed at the U.S. "If it ends up harming allies - especially Japan - but it saves the United States homeland, it is going to be a win for Trump". In 2000, toward the end of the Bill Clinton administration, the North invited then-U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to Pyongyang, but negotiations fell apart after the change in U.S. administration.

Pompeo's comments on Sunday raising the prospect of American private investors entering North Korea also make it more hard for Trump to keep pressuring Kim in any negotiation, according to Davis of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. "What they should be doing is playing down expectations by saying "we need to be cautious with the North Koreans" and really hold their feet to the fire and make sure that any agreement is fully verified".